Sarasota to receive $13.5 million in federal funds to repair Lido Beach erosion

Nicole Rodriguez Staff Writer @NicRodriguez

Monday

Jun 11, 2018 at 4:30 PMJun 11, 2018 at 10:41 PM

SARASOTA – The city will receive more than $13 million in federal funding to rebuild severely eroded Lido Beach.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday announced it has $13.5 million for Lido Beach renourishment in its fiscal year 2018 work plan. The plan includes Corps funding for dozens of projects across the country, including nine in Florida. The announcement comes nearly two weeks after City Manager Tom Barwin declared a state of emergency for the critically eroded beach, which lost roughly seven to eight feet in width of dune and shoreline from Subtropical Storm Alberto’s brush with the state on Memorial Day weekend.

The allocation of federal funds will allow the city to begin a longterm project to replenish the beach, city officials said Monday.

"This is very great news, especially considering the dire condition of portions of the Lido Beach shoreline right now," Barwin said in a statement. "With federal funding in place, we’ll be able to proceed with the long-term shoreline protection project in the near future. Monitoring will be a significant aspect as well as having a thoughtful approach to maintain all of Sarasota County’s shorelines over the coming decades."

Last month, a judge cleared the way for Sarasota to proceed with plans for the project, ruling the city and the Corps should be issued the necessary permits by the state Department of Environmental Protection to dredge up to 1.3 million cubic yards of sand from Big Pass to rebuild parts of Lido Beach. The initial renourishment would take 950,000 cubic yards of sand from Big Pass and subsequent restoration projects would occur every five years, dredging about 500,000 cubic yards each time. The projected cost is $20 million to $22 million. The federal government will pay 62 percent of the cost; the state will cover 19 percent and the city is responsible for 19 percent.

The ruling dismissed claims by Siesta Key Association that the project would negatively affect navigation and cause harmful erosion to Siesta Key. The association is considering appealing. A separate civil lawsuit by the group is still pending. It is unclear if that suit could delay the project. An association representative could not be reached for comment Monday.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson Monday lauded the Corps for allocating funds to Sarasota while underscoring the importance of other pressing projects in the state.

“This year’s plan will fund several important projects in Florida, including beach renourishment projects in Sarasota and Brevard, harbor deepening projects in Jacksonville and funding to continue restoring the Everglades and repairing Herbert Hoover Dike” around Lake Okeechobee, Nelson said in a statement. “While this year’s plan is certainly good news for Florida, it’s important that we continue to push the Corps to use the additional disaster funds Congress recently approved to fully fund the remaining work needed on Herbert Hoover Dike and get the project done ahead of schedule.”

A short-term relief project for Lido Beach also is in the works. The city plans to use 150,000 to 200,000 cubic yards of sand from New Pass this fall to renourish Lido Beach. The project is estimated to cost $2 million to $3 million, depending on how much sand is used.

Barwin on May 30 declared a state of emergency for parts of the beach that vanished in Alberto’s wake. The erosion has started financially impacting businesses and caused minimal property damage along the barrier island, Barwin said. Private properties on Lido Beach sustained some damage from Alberto, while the concession stand at Lido Beach Pool and Pavilion has suffered economic losses. Barwin said he believes other businesses on the island are suffering economically because of the erosion that has prompted patrons to go elsewhere. But it’s still too early to quantify the economic losses, he said.

The emergency declaration could qualify the city for regulatory and financial assistance. Since the declaration, DEP has granted the city’s request to allow property owners to double the amount of beach-quality bagged sand placed on the beach to protect private property from 300 cubic yards to 600 cubic yards.

The state of emergency applies to the most threatened portions of Lido Beach. On the southern half of Lido Beach, markers R-37 south to R-44.2 are included. Along the northern portion of Lido Beach, markers R-31 to R-33 are part of the local state of emergency.

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